Nvidia game-streaming console could end Steam boxes

Graphics card company Nvidia will be entering the battle for the
living room with an Android device that allows PC game-streaming to
TVs.

The yet-unnamed device will run on the company's flagship Tegra
K1 mobile chip and be sold with a separate controller, the BBC
reports. It will also, allegedly, allow computers running
on recent series of the GeForce graphics cards to stream gameplay
through the device to a TV, via HDMI-out. For those without one of
the graphics cards supported by Gamestream -- a function Nvidia
originally developed for use with their ill-fated Shield handheld -- the device will also be capable of
running Android games. The intention then, it appears, is to
improve on Shield by offering handheld and big screen gaming in the
same package.

The Tegra K1 chip the new device will run on was showcased as
part of Google's I/O developer conference last month, demonstrating
how future mobile devices running on Android will be able to take
advantage of desktop-quality graphics -- such as those seen in the
Unreal Engine 4 demo the K1 ran on-stage.

While impressive, the current Android gaming library lacks any
of the fidelity afforded by the K1, a point openly mocked in Epic's
Unreal demo. But if the ability to stream desktop games is limited
to the latest Nvidia graphics cards, there isn't a great deal to
separate this new device from the litany of cheap Android
microconsoles -- like the Ouya,
or Amazon's Fire TV, or Razer's upcoming entry to the growing list.

For those with a powerful enough PC already, Nvidia's new
offering could tempt them away from initiatives like Valve's Steam
Machines, which provide PC gaming in the living room. The small
form factor PCs with the ability to stream from a more powerful
desktop machine sounded great at the time, but in May Valve
announced all planned boxes were delayed until 2015.

On top of this, prices for even low-end Steam Machines have been
seen as prohibitively expensive, starting from £300 and rocketing
as high as £3,600. The proof, as they say, will be in the price for
Nvidia -- a detail that may be included with the company's official
announcement, which a spokesperson assured the BBC would be coming
"soon".

Wired.co.uk has contacted Nvidia and will update this story as
soon as we hear back.